"One girl said she started living on the streets after her mother beat her for dressing like a boy. Another said she ran away from home after her father pulled a gun on her for hanging around with so many “tomboys.” A third said she left home after a family acquaintance raped her because she was a lesbian and he wanted to “straighten her out.” But gathered at Ruth’s House, a 10-bed emergency shelter for gay homeless youths here in east Detroit, they all said that for the first time they felt safe.

Ruth’s House is one of a small number of shelters for gay youths that have opened around the nation in the past four years, reflecting an increasing awareness among child welfare advocates of the disproportionately high number of gay youths in the homeless population and the special problems they face.

Five years ago, such shelters were rare, but now there are more than 25 nationwide."

"Connecticut's civil unions for same-sex couples are inferior to marriage and violate their rights to equal protection and due process, an attorney for eight gay couples told the state Supreme Court Monday.

The couples want the court to rule that the state's marriage law is unconstitutional because it applies only to heterosexual couples, effectively denying gay couples the financial, social and emotional benefits of marriage.

"What is denied to these families is something that goes to the heart of equal protection, which is the right to be part of the fabric of society when they are just the same as other couples and other families," said their attorney, Bennett Klein.

Connecticut was the first state to allow civil unions without court pressure, but the lawsuit raises questions of whether the 2005 law helped or hurt same-sex couples in their quest for equality.

As several states consider civil union laws, the Connecticut case could have nationwide implications. Both sides said Monday they are aware of its significance."